Goodbye-amino? Pontiac could kill G8 ST; become one-car brand

It's been a bad month for Pontiac fans. While begging for money from Congress, GM mentioned its intentions to sacrifice the brand to aid the General's recovery and get a few billion from the feds in the process. Now comes word that GM may keep the brand around, but cut its lineup in half... or more.

Automotive News spoke with Susan Docherty, vice president of Buick-Pontiac-GMC, who said that Pontiac's Aveo-based 2010 G3 will sticker for $15,000, but says it's a short-term product for the brand. Unfortunately, Docherty also hints the G8 Sport Truck's lifespan could be even shorter. "We would be foolish if we didn't take a second look at whether or not that is the right thing to do."

In a separate AN article, Docherty goes even further and suggests Pontiac's lineup could be pared down from six vehicles to a single nameplate. According to Docherty, "We are not going to spend tons of money on product development" for Pontiac and that the Pontiac Torrent will be dropped for 2009.

So what will Pontiac be selling? According to Docherty, the G8 is the most likely candidate for GM's performance brand, and that the ideal future for Pontiac would be "very focused, very specialty or niche."

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]